Blind people in England at risk from ‘shocking’ social care delays, finds report

At least a quarter of councils are taking more than a year to provide vital support to people with a new visual impairment diagnosis

The lives of thousands of blind and partially sighted people are being put at risk by delays in vital care that they have a legal right to after being assessed as visually impaired, according to a report.

More than a quarter of English councils are leaving people who have just been diagnosed as blind waiting more than a year for vision rehabilitation assessments and potentially life-saving support, the report by the RNIB revealed.